Using indigenous knowledge during a professional path from a lab setting to college administration

Beth Michel

Senior Associate Director for the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies

Emory University, Atlanta

Bio:

Beth Michel is a proud citizen of the Tohono O’odham [pronounced thaw-ha-nah aw-thumb] Nation as well as Hopi and Navajo. She is the Senior Associate Director for the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies at Emory University. She is leading the development of strategic initiatives and serves as a consultant for Tribe-related issues and concerns among the campus community. She also directs the Native and Indigenous Initiative, an ad hoc committee working collectively to increase visibility of the Indigenous campus community. Prior to joining Emory, Michel was an Indigenous evaluator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO) as a contractor. During her 8 years as a consultant and trusted advisor, she collaborated with more than 30 Tribal health programs and Native-serving organizations to support evaluation design and implementation provided by public health federal funds.

Michel has served in various civic leadership roles including the Chair of Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation for the American Evaluation Association, and a member of the Emory Alumni Board. Currently she serves as the Interim Chair of her Tribal Nation’s Institutional Review Board. She received a Master of Public Health degree from Rollins School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arizona.